squat head-neck pain

[Rolling Elbow]

Some of you may already know that i pulled my lower back in January. After3 months, I am more or less back in action but i can't squat or pull any weight from the front of my body (anything over say 100 pounds) without my lower lumbar region saying "f$%k 8ff!"

So I have adopted barbell hack squats and i love them. At first I did them from my power rack, but i couldn't place the bar low enough so i didn't get enough depth to the squat. It worked the legs but not asmuch as i would have liked. I seemed if anything, as taxing to hold onto the bar because i could use more weight. In the past three weeks i have done them from the ground. I Love them..they work the legs thouroughly.

Now the problem. Even when i do light weight, i get a pulling sensation in the back of my head. I feel it right above the neck. It grows and grows and culminates in pain and a headeache. Last night it lasted until midnight. Due to this problem, I am no longer going to do hack squats from the ground..hopefully i can still do them from the rack.

Can anyone offer insight into this pain and why it might occur? Am i letting my arms drag down too much rather than squatting more? Is this strain affecting the whole shoulder and upper neck region? Anyone ever experience this? I can't find anything in the search engines.. It feels like what could be referred to as the "brain stem" soft fleshy point in back of head below back of skull and where the neck ends.

Thanks.

[IronFist]

Originally posted by Rolling Elbow
Now the problem. Even when i do light weight, i get a pulling sensation in the back of my head. I feel it right above the neck. It grows and grows and culminates in pain and a headeache. Last night it lasted until midnight. Due to this problem, I am no longer going to do hack squats from the ground..hopefully i can still do them from the rack.

Dude, read my thread about why I quit the 20 rep squat program. My headaches didn't last long after I finished the set, but they were bad enough that I had to quit the program after 3 workouts.

I have no idea what causes them.

Good luck, though. Let us know if you find a way to make it better.

IronFist

[Cheese Dog]

I have had that same pain in the top of my neck. It could be the vertibrea Gouhen was talking about. For me it seemed to be more muscular in origin. Making sure to warm up my neck before lifting has pretty much solved the problem.

[Rolling Elbow]

any ideas on warming up the neck? what type of regimen did you follow? For me it seems to be a combination of muscle and nerve..

[Rolling Elbow]

alright, I'll humour you.. how much chiropractic treatment is required to solve this issue if it is indeed the problem? I just don't want them manipulating my spine and breaking my neck because they don't have a clue.

[PLCrane]

You're probably holding your head too far forward and straining your neck muscles. Pull your head back, keeping your chin tucked. This will lengthen the neck and line it up with the rest of the spine. If you want landmarks, your ears should be over your shoulders.

[Cheese Dog]

Rolling Elbow, as far as neck warmups, I just do head rolls, slowly, first one direction 8-10 times and then the other way. Follow by gently stretching the neck, with my hands, forward, backward, and to each side. After the workout, if I didn't do any heavy back work, reverse bridges are a great excercise for strengthening the neck.

[Leimeng]

~ Try some of the exercises that are showcased by Matt Furey. Particularly the Hindu Squats and the Royal Bridge. You can find his page on an internet search.
~ There is no real reason beyond ego or lack of knowledge to train with heavy weights. You can get very very strong using body weight or dynamic tension exercises. You can also get some very good definition and tissue hardness this way as well. As a martial artist, the things you need are functional strength along with correct technique. Excess mass is not needed and in the long run can be very detrimental.
~ Just my two cents worth.


Peace,

Sin Loi

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